I have had dogs all my life. Some more human like than others. Some were a little off. Some just easy going. But they all were able to learn basic commands but the techniques used were different in all cases.

Just like humans, all dogs are different. I don't mean on the outside, which is obvious. Most trainers I have been around treat each dog the same. I seem to disagree with this technique and each dog needs to be evaluated. Universal commands may not work in a snap and patience is a must.

The first thing that is most important is to establish who is in control. When the dog goes out to do its business... who goes out the door first? I bet you will say... the dog! WRONG ANSWER. YOU should be going out the door first. Why? You are the alpha in the house. The dog is not. Dogs are pack animals. Your family is the dog's ‘pack'. So we all know from the song that there is always the leader of the pack. By you opening the door and letting the dog go out that door first, you are confirming that the dog is this leader of YOUR pack. So the idea is to go out the door first, and the dog behind you. When you come in, do the same thing as when you went out. You are establishing who you are in the pack and where the dog fits in the pack.

This goes along with eating. Does your dog beg at the table? Mine did! How do you cure this? It is not easy. The best thing to do is to for your pack minus the dog to eat your meal keeping the dog away. The dog will pant, cry, bark, etc. Let it be. Pay the dog no attention. Once you have cleaned up from the meal, then the dog gets fed. Once again you are establishing the roles of everyone in the pack. Think of the wild. Who eats first? The male eats first, then the female and finally the little ones. The dog is the little one so by you eating first, you are once again establishing yourself as leader of the pack.

Yelling does not work. The dog gets confused. Think about it. You yell at the dog. You then have a family fight. The dog gets scared and pees on the rug. Why? It does not know the yelling is not for him. I have seen it. Don't do it. Same for hitting. Gets you nowhere except to have a guilty conscience.

I have a dog now that is a bit ‘off'. He does not bite just does not listen. I spend much more time working with him and it does work. It does take patience. But they do not know any better. Just establish your and the dog's place and things magically happen. Use command words universally by all members of the pack. SIT, STAY, OFF, DOWN and PLACE are words that should evoke instant action. More on that at my free dog training website http://free-dog-training-info.com

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